BASF’s Personal Care business unveils Floragenist™, a new generation of floral actives powered by epigenetic science

• Floragenist™ Rose supports skin radiance for a “diamond skin” effect.

• Floragenist™ Blossom supports adaptive skin strength against daily stressors.

• Powered by BASF’s AquaGenesis extraction technology, the new ingredients unlock enhanced bioactive profiles from sustainably sourced flowers.

Pulnoy, France – August 11, 2026 – With Floragenist™, BASF’s Personal Care business introduces a new generation of floral active ingredients that reconcile the growing consumer demand for natural beauty with scientifically proven performance. Inspired by traditional botanicals and enabled by cutting-edge epigenetic science, Floragenist™ Rose and Floragenist™ Blossom form a complementary duo designed to enhance skin radiance and strengthen the skin’s ability to adapt to daily stress. Both actives are derived from carefully sourced botanicals from Morocco, Damask Rose (Rosa damascena) and Bitter Orange blossom (Citrus aurantium var. amara), ensuring traceability and responsible sourcing practices.

Bridging floral heritage and modern scientific validation

At the heart of this latest development is AquaGenesis, BASF’s advanced extraction technology that uses coconut water as a natural solvent. This technology reflects the company’s commitment to more sustainable innovation. It enables the gentle extraction of bioactive compounds without aggressive solvents, preserving delicate phytochemicals while increasing the concentration of key active molecules. Compared to conventional extraction methods, this technology delivers enhanced levels of flavonoids, enhancing performance in skin care applications.

For the development of Floragenist™, BASF researchers have paired this innovative extraction technology with epigenetic science. Together, these two fields of expertise result in advanced flower extracts that contribute to high-precision epidermal support.

Skin perfection: Floragenist™ Rose enhances skin radiance

Floragenist™ Rose is focused on enhancing skin radiance by promoting the appearance of a more refined skin surface. Inspired by epigenetic science, the ingredient helps support the skin’s own expression of “surface optics” proteins, which are involved in maintaining the skin’s structure and light-reflecting properties, thereby assisting in skin cohesion and visible luminosity. In addition, Floragenist™ Rose helps address the effects of oxidative stress, contributing to a more even-looking complexion. Clinical studies using VISIA imaging confirmed an improved appearance of skin luminosity (2.7-fold) and decreased redness (22%) at a concentration of 0.4% of the new ingredient compared to the placebo group.

Skin guard: Floragenist™ Blossom strengthens adaptive skin resilience

Floragenist™ Blossom is designed to reinforce the skin’s adaptive capacity in response to environmental and lifestyle-related stress. It supports skin resilience by helping the skin naturally express key skin integrity proteins. This contributes to maintaining the skin’s natural barrier function, improving the appearance of epidermal cohesion and helping the skin to better cope with external stressors such as mechanical stress, over-cleansing, or microbial imbalance. An in vivo study showed that harsh cleansing of skin pre-treated with 0.1% Floragenist™ Blossom for 28 days resulted in 52% lower variation in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) than placebo, indicating a supportive effect of the new ingredient on the skin barrier.

Responsible sourcing rooted in transparency and ethical practices

The development of the Floragenist™ range is guided by the principles of BASF’s Responsibly Active program for cosmetic bioactives, which emphasizes transparency, ethical conduct, and environmental responsibility. The ingredients are derived from certified organically cultivated Damask Rose and Bitter Orange, hand-harvested in Morocco and fully traceable to the source. The Damask Rose originates from a supply chain verified against a sustainable sourcing standard, helping to promote responsible agricultural practices and creating positive impacts for local communities.
 

About the Care Chemicals division at BASF

The BASF division Care Chemicals offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial & institutional cleaning, and technical applications. We are a leading global supplier for the cosmetics industry as well as the detergents and cleaners industry, and support our customers with innovative and sustainable products, solutions and concepts. The division’s high-performance product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters. We have production and development sites in all regions and are expanding our presence in emerging markets. Further information is available online at www.care-chemicals.basf.com.

About BASF

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 15,600 employees in North America and had sales of $18.1 billion in 2025. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com/us.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 108,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.